The Wall Street Journal ran a compelling piece How to Tap IT’s  Hidden  Potential, co-authored by Cox School of Business Prof. Amit Basu and Dallas-based LatticeWorks Consulting  Founder Chip Jarnagin. (The Wall Street Journal The Journal Report, March 10, 2008, pp R4,12)

The article covers an all-too-frequent problem with internal communications - - one group not connecting with another –  when either, both or the entire enterprise could benefit. Management workshops often refer to the condition  as having silos. The authors, referring to a glass partition, make these points:

(1) Too many top executives are unaware of the potential of IT to “transform a business and boost profits.”  Alas, they see IT as an expense they’d like to leave alone.

(2) There is a wall separating IT from other functions, because of language and mind-set differences between people in IT and the people in management; “geek” vs. MBA social influences; “flaws in IT governance;” and the straight on challenges of managing a fast-changing technology.

(3) Breakthrough tactics can change all that.

What are the approaches these authors suggest?  Answer: good organization that, in turn, enables good communication. They call for:

• Top-level C-suite commitment to the IT function;
• Hiring IT leaders who get the “big picture”
• Making sure “nothing gets lost in the translation.”

“A company must have people at all levels who can translate IT language for those outside that department and translate the language of management for those in IT.”

In sum, here’s another instance where better communications - - enabled by top executive attention and functional leaders who understand business — affects the profitability and productivity of the entire enterprise.

What goes for IT can be applied to other functions and departments as well.